TENNIS

Tsonga dispatches No. 1 Djokovic with ease to advance to quarterfinals of Rogers Cup

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic was upset by 13th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 6-2 in only 63 minutes in the third round of the Rogers Cup at Toronto on Thursday.

Djokovic came in with 11 straight wins over Tsonga but was nowhere near adding a 12th.

“Just nothing was going,” Djokovic said. “No baseline, no serve, no return. So just generally (a) very bad day, very poor performance.”

Tsonga will play eighth-seeded Andy Murray in the quarterfinals. Murray advanced when third-round opponent Richard Gasquet withdrew because of an abdominal strain.

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Djokovic’s defeat was the second big upset of the day. Third-seeded Stan Wawrinka lost 7-6 (8), 7-5 to Kevin Anderson.

Anderson will next play seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, who beat Tommy Robredo, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. Fifth-seeded David Ferrer was also pushed to three sets in a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Ivan Dodig.

 Serena Williams advanced to the women’s quarterfinals at Montreal, waiting out a rain delay to beat Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic, 7-5, 6-4.

Williams will play Caroline Wozniacki, a 6-1, 6-0 winner over American qualifier Shelby Rogers.

In other matches, Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro upset fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 and Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova topped second-seeded Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.

GOLF

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LPGA: Sandra Gal made six straight birdies on her back nine to take the first-round lead in the Meijer LPGA Classic in Belmont, Michigan, while Michelle Wie withdrew because of a wrist injury.

Gal, the 29-year-old German who won her lone LPGA Tour title in 2011, birdied Nos. 3-8 and finished with a par on No. 9 for a 6-under 65. South Korea’s Inbee Park was a stroke back.

Wie was 5 over after nine holes when she pulled out. She fought injuries to both wrists in 2007.

U.S. WOMEN’S AMATEUR: Brooke Mackenzie Henderson, the low amateur in the U.S. women’s open, advanced to the quarterfinals, winning two matches at Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove, New York.

BASEBALL

NECBL: Dan Hetzel singled in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning and the Sanford Mainers took the opener of their best-of-three North Division championship series with a 4-1 victory over the host Vermont Mountaineers at Montpelier.

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Drake Parker also hit an RBI single in the sixth.

Sanford starter Brett Adcock worked six innings, giving up three hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

AUTO RACING

NASCAR: Joe Gibbs Racing won’t appeal the penalty levied against Denny Hamlin’s team for failing a postrace inspection at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Crew chief Darian Grubb was suspended six weeks and fined $125,000, and car chief Wesley Sherrill was also suspended six weeks. Hamlin and Joe Gibbs were each docked 75 driver and car owner points.

– From staff and news services


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